Missing
by Qantateon
Summary: When Warden Commander Amell finds her keep under siege by templars looking for Anders, she will find him first. Awakening to Dragon age II connection.
1. A Day To Remember

**The story bridges the gap between Awakening and Dragon age II with the flight of Anders to Kirkwall. I rewrote it to fix the more obvious errors. Please review.**

It's was a day to remember when Katelyn Amell arrived at Vigils Keep in the late spring nearly three years after the defeat of the blight. She had just spent the better part of a month overseeing the repair effort of Soldiers Peak with Voldrik, Mistress Woolsey and Velanna. While the work was progressing at a steady pace, she still felt like it had taken years between Woolsey and Voldriks discussions about the costs and Voldriks insistence that they should just build a completely new base instead of repairing 'ruins of questionable structural integrity'.

In the end she was glad that Velanna had come with her to meet Avernus. Velanna hadn't seemed to mind the bickering or the slow proceedings. She had changed considerably of the confrontation with the Architect and the Mother. They had looked for any trace of Sianni but to no avail. While she would never admit it Kate suspected that she had quietly given up hope for her sister. It had taken her some time to recover from it but eventually she had settled in her new role as grey warden. She hadn't however given up on the Dalish and still collected every piece of knowledge and lore in her diary as well as some new stories for the Dalish. These two purposes were what drove her now and for the latter she had come to see Avernus. They had talked in length about magic, demons, the fade and the nature of the taint. Kate knew that Avernus had done some very questionable research and she hoped that Velanna was wise enough to leave most of it alone but she hadn't pushed for the details of their conversations. She was going to trust Velanna to make the right choices.

'Kate, trouble' Velanna said softly snapping Kate out of her musings about what she would do with the first darkspawn she met after this nonsense with stones and money.

'I'm not sensing any darkspawn so …' she stopped as she saw what Velanna referred to, their path was blocked by a group of Templars that had come out of a roadside building. They formed up over the entire road and stared them down menacingly.

'The keep is under investigation.' One called 'Turn around and be on your way, this is Templar business.'

Kate was astonished but only for a moment before she gathered herself and answered: 'I'm Katelyn Amell, Commander of the grey and Arlessa of Amaranthine. Let me pass, you have no right to stop me.' While she normally didn't talk like that she felt it was a good moment to practice exercising authority. In her head it was a kind of switch to what she called 'Command Voice'. She couldn't quiet grasp why people found it impressive or listen to it and those who knew her well said she sounded rather silly when she spoke like that but it worked. While the Templars didn't move, but one of them ran back in the direction of the keep while the others kept their eyes on them, ready for anything. It was impossible see their faces because of their helmets but Kate thought they looked rather tense.

'We could just set them on fire.' Velanna suggested after they had been waiting for about ten minutes.

Kate smiled at the suggestion. 'I don't think that would be very polite, Velanna, let's wait for now they haven't attacked us yet.' Unconsciously however her hand went to her back were her trusted sword 'Spellweaver' hung sharp and vibrating with mystical power. The Templars noticed her movement and tensed even more.

'They are nervous.' She thought and relaxed after all those years in the circle tower it was a refreshing sight to see the implacable Templars could be nervous.

Before she could do anything else however another group of Templars came marching in her direction and she saw the odds turning against her. After all this wasn't a horde of darkspawn but warriors with the finest training the chantry could give them.

'No fighting or setting them on fire unless there isn't any other choice' she murmured to Velanna who gave a slight nod.

This time one of the Templar stepped forward and introduced himself as Knight-Captain Walter, leader of the Amaranthine Chapter and deputy commander of the Templar order in Ferelden. He and Knight-Commander Richard had been send by the chantry when Greagoir retired and Cullen had been send to the Free Marches. She didn't know much about them but knew that they were fiercely opposed to Alistair's plans for a new free circle. They also weren't as lenient apostates as Greagoir had been. Anyone who escaped more than once was made tranquil. The mages in Ferelden were however better off the most mostly through the pressure from the crown and the feeling of the people that if mages could end the blight they might not all be raving monsters out for the blood of children.

'It's most unfortunate that we must meet under such circumstances but I'm afraid that we have a problem, Commander Amell.' He said gravely.

'A problem, that's quite the understatement from someone who is apparently laying siege to my keep. This can be considered on act of war against Ferelden and the Grey Wardens' Kate replied still speaking in her command voice.

'You must understand that the other wardens haven't been very compliant and I hope …' but before he could finish Kate broke him off.

'Enough of this I will not be denied access to my keep by anyone. I advise you to let me pass and once I have been informed of the situation by my subordinates we shall discuss your 'problem'.' While she was speaking she resumed walking with Velanna at her side. The Templars didn't stop her.

However while she passed them Walter said in a low and menacing tone 'I advise you to remember you place, mage. You can't stop us from doing our divine duty. Nor the maker nor his chantry will be denied their justice.'

When Kate neared the keep, she saw dozens of large tents and a large number of Templars. They had stationed sentries so they could observe the entire outer wall. 'It seems we simply can't leave the boys in charge for more than a day.' Velanna joked.

When they arrived at the gate they were already open. The guard had probably seen her approach. Nathaniel and Sigrun stood waiting with a group of soldiers from the silver order as people called her soldiers now.

'Kate' he called 'It's good that your back we must talk, come quickly.' When she entered she noticed that even Sigrun looked more serious than usual and had a large bruise on the left side of her head. Kate held her hand over it and a soft glow spread from her palm while she healed the wound.

'Indeed Nathaniel, just how were you able to declare war on the Chantry?' Kate joked.

'It's Anders.' He replied without a smile 'He did something that caused him to go berserk.'

While they walked into the throne room she noticed that it was completely wrecked. The dragon egg was shattered, the golem shell had somehow been lodged in the celling, books and pages of books were littered all over the floor. Oghren stood there looking a little lost in front of his broken cask. From his swaying manner Kate deduced that he had probably mourned its loss by raiding the wine cellar.

She looked around 'Where is Justice?'

Sigrun sighted 'We think he was probably involved somehow. We can't be sure we haven't seen him since Anders went crazy.'

'Anyway suddenly he bursts into the room screaming about vengeance with light shining out of his eyes. When we tried to calm him down he kept raging and screaming.' Nathaniel sighed

'When he didn't calm down, Rolan tried to knock him out from behind but Anders saw him and blasted him across the room. After that everything went to the void, he combined Blizzard and Tempest to make some kind of super storm, while shooting arcane bolts at anything that moved.'

Kate sighed and looked at Nathaniel and asked if anyone had been hurt in the fight, but Sigrun replied a little sour 'One of the books hit my head and knocked me out and 4 others had burns and broken bones, but not fatalities.'

'What happened next, it doesn't seem that this is enough reason to bring an army to our front gates? Why is the chantry involved?' Velanna asked.

Nathaniel looked up from the rubble. 'We put him in one of the cells and hoped that he would have calmed down when he woke up.'

'Nathaniel and I decided to wait for your return before proceeding.' Sigrun interjected. 'However Rolan had already called the Templars. It seems as if he really was a spy for the order.' Sigrun added.

Kate let her gaze sweep over the ruins of the throne room. Of course he had been a spy, she had never believed his story about joining the grey wardens because his chantry had burned down and one letter to Greagoir had told her all she needed to know. But she couldn't refuse, it wasn't as if she had such abundance of candidates to begin with and if he did his duty it wasn't really a problem. She had even coupled him with Anders so he could see that Anders was no blood mage or whatever their paranoia had come up with.

'But that still doesn't account for the siege, what happened next?' Velanna pressed. 'We don't how he contacted them but a day later 6 Templars from Amaranthine arrived here and demanded that we released him to their custody. We weren't going to let them take him, but to compromise we allowed them to make sure that he was secure and locked up. He was still out cold so we didn't see the harm in letting them see him. Rolan took them to the dungeons.'

'Did they do something to him, were any of you with him?' Kate asked nervous. 'I was still in the infirmary and Nathaniel was busy with finding the fastest way to get a message to you. The guards had orders to not let him out of his cell unless one of the Senior Wardens commanded it. But it appears that he woke up and snapped again. He used magic fire to melt the cell door and then killed Rolan, the Templars and the two guards posted at his cell.'

Kate looked around when a door opened and saw Varel hobbling towards them one leg completely in bandages but clearly relieved to see her. Sigrun went on 'While he made his escaped he injured another 12 guards and Varel who tried to stop him from reaching the gate.'

'It's good to see that you have returned, commander' Varel said when he reached them.

'What happened to you?' Kate said and she called upon her inner power and a bright blue light surrounded his leg. He groaned but smiled after a moment 'Thank you commander, I met Anders when he came bursting out of the prison. When I tried to stop him he shot a fireball at me. I jumped behind the well but he still got me. What do you want to do about the Templars?'

Kate shook her head. 'Nothing yet, I don't they will attack us unless we provoke them. I also don't get why they are still here shouldn't they be looking for Anders?'

'Oh, some are looking for him but they are but they are at a disadvantage. You see the group that came to the keep brought his phylactery.' Sigrun said with a hint of a smile.

'That's what Ser Walter meant when he said that you hadn't been compliant.' Kate said thoughtfully.

'Once that guy showed up things when downhill fast.' Nathaniel agreed 'He came here 2 days later when the first group didn't return with about 20 Templars. This time we didn't allow them in and we refused to give him the phylactery at least until you had returned'

'When we explained what happened, he declared that we interfered with the work of the Maker so unless we gave up the phylactery and told him everything he wanted to know, we weren't going anywhere.' Sigrun finished 'Then he sends out messengers to other chapters in Ferelden to get reinforcements. That was 3 days ago, nothing much has changed since. They just keep everyone away and refuse to let anyone leave. When the merchants left they detained them. They wouldn't even let our messenger so we could get the news to you.'

'Still if they try to starve us it would take quite a while, because we have supplies for at least 5 months and 8 if we are careful. I just came from the cellars.' Varel reported and Kate smiled at his dedication.

'I see.' Kate said and thought for a moment.

'Alright, first I will take care of the wounded men. Meanwhile Sigrun tell Dworkin to load up the catapults with some of his products that should serve as a warning in case they try anything. Varel tell me the men to stand ready but whatever happens not to attack or provoke the Templars in any way. Keep about a third on watch. Nathaniel, see if Walter would like to parley in about 2 hours. Velanna go to the tower and keep an eye on their movements, take the spyglass. Sigrun can join you when she's finished.' They all nodded and took off.

When she got to the infirmary and saw the men in the beds alongside the walls, she felt quite angry when she saw what Anders had done with her men. Between the darkspawn, bandits and other things that stalked her arling they had enough problems without adding crazy wardens to it. She went to the middle of the room, sat down cross legged like she was going to meditate and became completely relaxed. The room slowly filled with a blue light as she filled the room with her aura. While she was healing her thoughts strayed to what she was going to do to fix this mess.


	2. Time To Act

About an hour later most of the soldiers were healed except for the last 2 who were the most severely injured. They however were out of immediate danger and she decided to let them rest for now. The keep's herbalist would whip them up some potions later. Now that she had time to think it was time to act.

When she exited Oghren was still standing in the throne room, he looked around when she entered. 'So first we take care of the skirt-wearing freaks outside and then we go find Sparkle-fingers.' He proposed.

'That pretty much sums it up.' Kate replied 'Get your gear you are coming with me when I go talk to them.'

He smiled 'One of them conversations that ends in a field of bodies.' As he walked away to fetch his weapon she could swear he was humming to himself.

She shrugged as Nathaniel and Varel come up to her. 'The men are on their posts and have been given strict instructions, commander' He reported.

Nathaniel sighed 'I went to Walter and he agreed to meet you in front of the gate but I don't think he will accept anything less than unconditional surrender to his divine authority. Judging by his attitude I don't think he's a big fan of negotiating with mages or anyone for that matter.'

At that point Velanna entered the room. 'Ah commander, Sigrun told me that the catapults are ready and Dvorkin is very excited to have a chance to test his newest formula.' She smiled and continued 'We better watch out he doesn't start bombarding them just for the fun of it.'

'Does it look like they are planning something?' Kate replied. 'No, Sigrun and I have been observing them with the spyglass from the moment she joined me on the roof. They don't seem to have any means to assail the walls. So it doesn't seem like they are really going to attack us or they have already decided to starve us.'

'It seems that they are still convinced that they have intimidated us enough with their numbers.' Kate mused.

'What's the plan, commander? We can't sit here waiting while Anders gets further away and the Templars get impatient.' Nathaniel said. It seemed to Kate that the Templars weren't the only impatient ones here. Everyone looked at her expectantly.

'Hah, the burden of command.' she thought.

Oghren walked in with his sword on his back. 'Ready to go, Commander' He called as he walked over.

Kate nodded 'Good, Velanna fetch Sigrun and tell her to come to the gate then go to the outer walls and be ready to wreck some havoc if the meeting goes wrong shoot some fireballs perhaps summon a sylvan, the usual. Nathaniel, I want you and some archers on the wall to provide cover. Varel, you and Sigrun assemble 20 men and be prepared to charge if we require aid. Oghren and I will go talk to him. Do nothing unless we actually start fighting.' She made to go but turned around 'Oh and make sure Dvorkin knows that we are going to negotiate, so no bombarding unless the meeting goes bad.'

As she walked into the courtyard with Oghren, she looked at the statue of Andraste. 'I wonder if she had any idea what her quest to destroy the imperium would lead to.' She mused. 'Commander?' Oghren looked puzzled. 'Oh nothing Oghren, just something Anders said once.'

He shrugged and said in his characteristic way 'Don't worry about sparky we will get him back and then we have him clean the vigil with his robes to make up for all this.' Kate smiled at this notion, but she remained worried.

The chantry could tolerate him being a gray warden but that went only so far. They wouldn't stand idly by and let a mage who killed six of their own go about his business. Not to mention that he had killed two of her men. Whatever Oghren said she feared that this time it wouldn't be as simple back when she had conscripted him. Back then he had just been Anders, a legend in the Circle tower for escaping, an apostate who hadn't done anything wrong and just wanted to be free. She couldn't let him be hanged for the deaths of two Templars who had been slaughtered by the darkspawn and conscripted him because of his healing skills that rivaled and probably surpassed her own. However since last year when the chantry had taken a hard stance against Alistair's plans for a free circle, he had grown more distant and moody. Often he would spend long hours discussing the plight of mages in Thedas with Justice who had always felt strongly against the circle. But it wasn't until about 3 weeks ago that she became worried. On that day they had met a young mage being escorted back to the circle by a group of Templars. Kate thought he saw himself in the beaten and humiliated apprentice who limped between them. She had stopped them and insisted on healing the boy. The Templars had only reluctantly agreed after she told them who she was. When they left she had made it clear that he was not to be harmed further. Anders had said nothing be looked with every increasing anger and when they got back to the keep he locked himself up in his quarters for 2 days. When he came out he wouldn't speak to her but he had a long conversation with Justice. She didn't know what they talked about but when he returned he proposed a dangerous experiment that would allow him to take in Justice in his own body but so that his own mind wasn't destroyed. When she wanted to know why he would do something so dangerous. He had refused to tell her and stalked off muttering whether she trusted him and questioning that she even cared about the fate of mages. That was as far as she would let it go she had stopped him and made clear that he was not to do the experiment and dared him to question her devotion to the mages again.

'I saved the circle in Ferelden when it was on the brink of being annulled while you just ran away time and time again. I have proven the worth of mages for all of Thedas when I defeated the blight. We know have a king who is working towards setting the mages free. I have done more for mages than you in your entire life and you dare question my loyalty?' She hadn't meant to sound so harsh but it was the truth. He had stormed away and refused to see her. The next day she had left for Soldiers Peak and hoped that he would have calmed down by the time she was back. Her hope had proved idle however and now he was maker knows where probably plotting something misguided.

The sounds of the opening gate broke her line of thought and she stepped out to face Ser Walter who stood about 200 meter away. She had put on her full Warden Commander Armor so she send a clear signal that she wasn't about to grovel at his feet and beg for mercy as he almost certainly expected most mages to do. Oghren next to her also look menacingly enough to ward off any plans of trying to grab her right there.

Ser Walter watched as Katelyn drew closer. He was positively furious that she basically told him to get out the way. He was originally from Kirkwall and while still serving in the gallows most mages didn't even dare to look him in his eyes. Yet here was a mage who didn't only ignored him for 3 hours but stood between him and the fastest way to trace a malificar who killed Rolan and 6 other faithful Templars. However this wasn't any mage, everyone knew that. She was recruited into the warden after an incident with a blood mage. She and the king were the only grey warden survivors of the battle in Ostagar and had used ancient treaties to gather an army to challenge the darkspawn by slaughtering a tower full of abominations, aiding the dalish with werewolves but still killing their keeper and tipping the scales of the election in Orzammar in favor of Bhelen Aeducan. Then she had taken her assembled army to Denerim and in a great battle ending on the top of fort Drakon she had single handily killed the archdemon while her companions held of the darkspawn who tried to aid their false god. This made her the only warden had slain the archdemon and live which was disconcerting. There were also rumors that she had learned ancient elven magic that allowed her magic to aid her fighting. He had been briefed about her in Amaranthine. But the worst to him seemed that she ruled Amaranthine which had been given to the grey wardens. 'Magic must serve men, never rule over him.' He thought and yet there she was walking towards him defying the maker's second commandment. When the whole affair started he hoped to intimidate the wardens in giving up the phylactery by amassing his force in front of the keep, but they hadn't been impressed and he doubted that attacking was a viable option. The grand cleric hadn't given him permission to attack the keep and in any case she held the mage in high regard. When she walked toward him in full armor, he could see that she wouldn't cooperate. Her eyes seemed to shine with determination and strength. These eyes had looked into the bottomless eyes of the archdemon as it lay dying just before she had finished it off. He couldn't help feeling a little uneasy.

Kate stopped when they were in speaking distance and switching to command voice said. 'Now that I know what has transpired. What do you have to say Ser Walter? You're unjustly laying siege to the grey wardens, rulers of Amaranthine by the grace of the king. I would like to end this without bloodshed, withdraw your men and go back to your monasteries.'

His reaction was priceless first surprise followed anger and indignation as his face contorted. It took him a moment but he overcame is rage and spoke with forced calm and politeness 'I hardly think that we are in fault here. You and all of the inhabitants of the keep are guilty of aiding a malificar and a murderer. I demand that you give me his phylactery and open your keep so we can search it for evidence and confirm that you're committing no further crimes to the maker.' He paused for breath and continued 'Lastly I would request that you hand over the bodies of the fallen so we can give them a proper funeral.'

Kate paused and thought while Oghren glared at the Templars almost challenging them to attack. She then continued in her command voice. 'I will give you the bodies of your fallen brothers. They were your comrades and deserve a proper funeral. I will also allow a portion of your men to search the keep under supervision. You will not be permitted to take anything. Whatever you hope to find won't be there but I'm not the one to tell the Templars what they should concern themselves with. However the mage is a grey warden doesn't fall under your jurisdiction, we will apprehend him and he will face justice for his actions. His phylactery will make tracking him easier so I'm keeping it. I will not negotiate further my men and I will be left in peace to do our duty. If you don't comply we will defend ourselves by whatever means I deem fit.'

She took Spellweaver of her back and directed her flow of magic like the trapped elven soul had taught her. Faint light radiated from her and she became slightly ethereal. Her blade shimmered as she waited for his reaction.


	3. Preparations

Ser Walter was uneasy. Her ultimatum was reasonable so he couldn't just refuse that would make him seem as the aggressor. He also couldn't drag out this blockade. While he was appalled that she had been given power, she had governed her arling just and many of the local nobles were loyal to her. Those that weren't had mysteriously disappeared and he had already received several messages from the more prominent nobles in the arling asking what exactly was happening. He had sent any messenger away without reply but he feared that some of the nobles would come themselves. It was easy to intimidate a young elven boy with a letter, their masters wouldn't back down so easily especially because it was plain to see what he was doing.

Also the main host of the silver order wasn't in the keep most they patrolled the roads, scouted the countryside, kept order in the Amaranthine, ... If their lady was besieged they wouldn't stand idly. Their leader in the field was Ser Alec a farmer she had forced to join the army after he had stolen grain. He was turning out a capable warrior and a keen tactician, he had quickly eclipsed Constable Aidan and had by taken over his duties after Aidan had failed to properly defend Amaranthine from the darkspawn assault. If he and the bulk of the silver order were to gather he would become stuck between two fronts and not in a good position to repel either of them.

The mage was also on good terms with Theyrn Cousland of Highever, Arl Teagan of Redcliffe and most of the other important nobles in Ferelden after all she had convinced them to abandon Theyrn Logain and he was the man who most people attributed Ferelden's independence from Orlais to. Lastly he shouldn't forget the king who had fought beside her during the blight and had now taken to 'better' the fate of the mages within his realm by giving them as much freedom as he could. This was not a situation to be resolved by waiting or attacking the keep. He had to find an alternative that would get him the phylactery but not turn the entire nation against him and possibly the rest grey warden order. He looked up at her standing there her magic strangely distorting the light of the setting sun. An idea struck him that would resolve his problems and even get him the vial. She couldn't refuse her pride wouldn't allow it.

'Certainly,' he began 'these are reasonable terms however when anyone kills Templars, they become enemies of the order. Is it not the same for you, commander? If anyone killed one of your grey wardens wouldn't you see them personally to justice? We are at an impasse and neither of us have anything to gain by escalating the situation.'

He paused and looked at her. Her intimidating demeanor had somewhat subsided and she was looking more curiously now.

'So I would propose the following. You and I will duel for the phylactery until one of us yields or is unable to continue. The losing party will agree to let the winning party hunt for the apostate. So if I win you will give me the phylactery so me and my men can continue our holy task. If you win the phylactery is yours and the Templar order will not interfere further with your business or your keep. In either case the stalemate will be broken and we can both continue with our duties. What do you say?' He smiled, she was trapped and she knew it.

Kate looked at him and thought about what he said. It wasn't the worst outcome, she really hadn't been looking forward to engaging about a hundred Templars. They would almost certainly win especially if Alec brought the rest of her men but the political consequences would be severe. Whatever she may think of the chantry, it was never wise to discount them. Ser Walter certainly looked capable but she wasn't going to back down. It seemed like the quickest way to end it nonsense.

'I accept your terms, we will fight here with the maker as our witness. If you defeat me in single combat the phylactery will be yours and the grey wardens of Ferelden will leave the matter to the Templar order.' Kate called and added with a smile. 'However only if you win.'

Oghren smiled in his beard, it wasn't every day that he got to see the commander trash a Templar and whatever she may say about it he knew she would enjoy it thoroughly. Maybe after this duel she would be in a good enough mood to consider buying him a new and bigger casket.

Both sides informed their camps of the duel and preparations were made. Nathaniel, Sigrun, Varel and Velanna come walking toward them as did several more Templars. They were the witnesses that would preside over the match. They marked the boundaries of the field by standing in a large circle around Walter and Kate.

In the middle of the circle Ser Walter and Kate stood watching each other intently. She had to think of the proving in Orzammar and grimaced at the memories. She hoped that Walter wasn't as a formidable warrior as Piotin Aeducan. Ser Walter had a sword and shield but Katelyn held only Spellweaver. He charged forward holding his shield up and while holding his sword up high. He tried to slap away her sword with his shield before bringing his sword down. He had however not considered her unexpected strength and speed that her magic granted. She nimbly moved to his right side so that his shield hit nothing and stopped his swing easily while she moved her left hand in the direction of his chest. A rock the size of the fist appeared In front of her hand and flew toward him, it shattered against his breastplate and he was forced to take a few steps backwards to steady himself. After that he was much more cautious and tried to strike her unprotected left side. She dodged his jab and slashed at his chest. He caught the blow with his shield but the force of the impact still made him stagger. This time she followed up by stabbing at the arm between his shoulder piece and chest armor. He gave a low growl and tried to move his arm but it wouldn't. She couldn't see his face because of his helmet but she knew he hadn't expected that. He dropped his shield and transferred his sword to his other arm and gathered himself. Kate saw him tense and step forward making a horizontal slash forward. She stepped back out of his reach and he took the momentum moving forward again. The next minute or so they exchanged blows but when he couldn't beat her he back off a little. She knew what he was going to do and felt the smite coming as she brought forth her shimmering shield. Walter smiled to himself it was over, no mage could stand up to a holy smite. He released the energy and expected her to be thrown up and smacked against the ground but instead she jumped forward surrounded by a barrier a bright light. He stabbed instinctly forward but she dodged it and pulled him forward with her left hand. He was carried forward by his momentum and then her left gauntlet came crashing into his face and while he fell back everything went black. When he opened his eyes she was standing above him with the tip of her sword against his throat.

'The arcane warriors were the guardians of Arlathan, protectors of the Elvhen and even the magisters of Tevinter at the height of their powers only defeated them after they lost almost their entire army and unleashed terrible magic and demons. Who are you to challenge them?' she said in a strange voice. She looked temporary blank and then she snapped back. 'It seems like it's about time to yield, Ser Walter.' She smiled sweetly at him but her tone was like ice.

He was still a little dazed but with her sword so near his exposed neck he knew very well what he was supposed to do. 'I yield' he said as if he still couldn't believe what happened to him.

Kate removed her sword and stepped away and looked at the other Templars who seemed equally shocked with their leader defeated. 'You have seen the duel and heard the terms. We will bring out your fallen and you will leave.' She commanded. They nodded helped up Walter and walked away.

'What was that you said to him?' asked Velanna as they walked back.

Kate smiled sadly 'I told you how I learned this magic didn't I? The life stone also gave me some memoires from battles against what I think is the Tevinter Imperium. Sometimes they can be quite vivid and I got carried away.'

Velanna nodded and walked away Kate had told her these things already. She had written them down in her diary together with the instructions Kate received from the life stone and the story how she acquired them. While Velanna had never tried to master the magic herself, but it still was part of the Elvhen lore she and the dalish tried to reclaim and while she would never be part of a clan again Kate knew that she would never give up on collecting knowledge for her people.

Oghren walked back with her to the Vigil. 'Nice one, boss that will teach him to fear your famous left hook. So do we start the chase?'

'My left hook, huh' she thought. But when she spoke it so everyone could hear her 'No, we aren't going to wander out in the dark, he already has a large head start. We depart at first light tomorrow. Nathaniel, Sigrun, Oghren, Velanna prepare yourselves. We don't know where he went so pack lightly only the essentials and don't get too drunk tonight Oghren or I will use a bucket of cold water to wake you tomorrow. Varel, you will be in charge of the keep again and please let Alec know what happened here.'

Oghren didn't say anything as he walked away. He knew that she hadn't made an idle treat so he wandered off to finish a letter to Felsi and their son. Sigrun tried to keep a straight face at his reaction and when to master Wade to get her best armor back that he had been fixing. Nathaniel went to looking for Dvorkin who was angry that he didn't get to use his explosives, to get some grenades. Velanna went to collect potions from the stockroom.

Dinner was very quiet that night. Oghren was sober for a change so he didn't make a scene. There were no jokes form Anders and the rest didn't want really want to speak. After dinner Kate went to her office to proofread the letter Oghren had finished before the meal. She would have to rewrite it of course but he had improved somewhat. In his first letters she didn't even recognized the ink on the papers as words and he had to dictate his letters to her. But he had been slowly improving now it was possible to read most words if you guessed what he wanted to say. There was a knock on the door.

'Enter'

Varel stepped inside. 'Commander, I need to speak to you. What will you do with Anders?'

She sighed, she had expected him to ask her about Anders his fate.

'I am not sure. We don't know exactly was has happened to him, but his crimes are severe.'

'Let me be blunt, commander.' Varel said suddenly 'He cannot continue to serve here in the vigil not after he killed two of our soldiers and wounded so many of our own. He also disobeyed your orders which can be interpreted as treason. By law he should be put to death as soon as you find him and if he has truly become an abomination that might be the only sensible thing to do.'

She looked away 'I know my duty however if he's got possessed somehow we could still help him. I could go into the fade and confront the demon so I wouldn't …'

'It isn't that simple and you know it. Velanna told found justice's body in the tower and some magical artifacts. It's almost certain that Anders took in Justice which means he wasn't possessed involuntarily.'

She knew what he was getting at if Anders allowed Justice to possess him then he was responsible for the consequences that left only one option open to her unless she wanted to keep an abomination around.

'If he's possessed by justice by his own choice he has made his choice and I shall not hesitate. I will send him on his calling so he may redeem himself in the deep roads and if he refuses I will carry out the punishment myself. Also make sure to send the Kristoff's body to Aura she has waited long enough.'

Varel looked straight into her eyes. She sounded determined but there was still some doubt in there, but he had given her something to think about and in the end he knew she would do what was necessary. She had never failed to make a sound decision in his opinion.

That night she slept badly. She still couldn't understand why he would take in Justice. After she had finished with Oghren's letter she went straight to her quarters and first prepared everything for the next day, her sword and armor of course but also her bedroll, water skin, some trinkets and maps of Ferelden and the deep roads beneath it. When she lay down and tried to rest questions kept swirling around in her head like excited wisps. She wished that she could talk to Wynne. Ever since her first day in the tower when Wynne had been appointed to be her mentor as she arrived from the free marches had always gone to her for advice and saw her as a kind of guardian, but she had gone north with Shale. In any case she could guess what Wynne would say but she would still her to say it .

The next morning she hadn't slept well but she wasn't tired. Nathaniel was already awake and she joined him in the hall. They ate in silence while the others came down one by one. When Oghren ran into the room fearing the cold water she smiled a little. After breakfast they assembled in the courtyard. They all had their best weapons and equipment with them. Nathaniel had both his short and longbow strapped on his back. Sigrun was in her newly repaired armor and had her dragonbone daggers with her. Velanna stood next to her with her staff, the heart of the forest, in her hand. Oghren had his great battle axe in his hand and swung it around in anticipation before attaching it to the back of his armor.

'Let's go' she called. They fell in line beside her and marched out of the gate guided by the blood drop in the phylactery. It pointed them west. Varel was standing on the arch over the gate like a statue, silently reminding her of her duty.


	4. On The Road

Note: The idea is that a phylactery is a round vial with a drop of blood that moves to whichever direction the mage happens to be.

As they followed the north road Kate looked thoughtful at the phylactery. It was certainly a great help and mages knew that the Templars could use it to track them where ever they went but besides pointing straight to wherever the mage happened to be it was completely useless. It was helpful when tracking frightened apprentices with a slight head start but when following a crafty fox like Anders she wondered how useful it would really be. It said nothing of distances, the route he had taken or the condition of the mage. She wondered whether it would stop working if Anders died.

As they walked her companions normally chattered like birds but today they were silent. Oghren wasn't trying to convince Velanna of weird facts about the dwarves nor was Sigrun annoying Nathaniel with clever remarks to his questions. Of course without Anders there were no meetings of the slack jawed cowards club where he and Oghren would discuss the craziest stuff that they never did afterwards, at least not Anders. She found the silence rather disconcerting.

When a cart overtook them they hitched a ride. Varel had many times tried to convince her of the need for horses at the keep but she didn't like riding and the beasts were too scared of darkspawn so she didn't think them of much use to grey wardens.

The cart transported dragon bone to the dwarven trade outpost in the knotwood hills. After they had purged the dragon bone wastes of everything that attacked them on sight which was everything. Sigrun had taken some bones with her to the keep so Master Wade could make some first class daggers for her. When she had proudly showed them to everyone, Kate had been struck by an idea. She had sent some soldiers to collect some random pieces and bring them back. When she showed them to Master Wade, he concluded that they all were of great quality for smiting. So she had made arrangements with King Bhelen and House Helmi who had recently taken over Kal Hirol to establish a trading post near the collapsed deep road. She would provide them with pristine dragon bones and they would forge weapons, armor, trinkets, that the dwarfs would for the most part sell in Amaranthine. The result had been an enormous increase in trade for Amaranthine. Ships and merchants from all over Thedas came to buy the high quality dragonbone items and sell their goods in the process. The profits from the levies went to the rebuilding of Amaranthine so that the city was flourishing once again and with the rediscovering of ancient forging secrets in Kal Hirol the weapons kept improving and the enchantments upon them became more outlandish. Both the dwarves and her arling had profited greatly from the arrangement and when Amaranthine was rebuilt she had started donated money to the rebuilding of Lothering, Denerim, Redcliffe and the establishment of Dalish villages in the Hinterland where the local people had all been killed or fled and the king had granted to their people in recognition for their help during the blight. Her mind wandered like this until she heard Oghren laugh loudly at something the driver said.

Oghren who sat next to the driver was quickly breaking down her legend, something that he liked to do ever since he had heard Leliana's song about the fifth blight. She had depicted him as a warrior poet with a soft spot for flowers and philosophy. He took revenge on Leliana by telling everyone his version of events. Kate suspected that he was also trying to make a song but kept failing. She pieces like 'them wardens weren't sober for a minute, son' and 'that red head kept dropping her bow so people would see her ass' drifted toward her. Despite of the situation she smiled a little and wondered whether Leliana had heard the fifth blight by Oghren.

When the cart arrived at the road to the trade post they got off and she gave the driver a few silvers because he had endured Oghren for two hours. She checked the phylactery it was still pointing west but now a little more to the south now because the road had led them north. They kept following the road as it was the fastest way west and after near 3 days they arrived at the town of West-Hill near dusk.

Bann Franderel, the local lord, welcomed them personally and provided food and lodgings for the night. They had agreed beforehand not to tell anyone of Anders. So when he inquired where the famous wardens were going in a hurry they said Orzammar to assist in the reclaiming of a lost thaig. It was plausible enough now that castless could take up arms to fight the darkspawn in exchange for a better life in a reclaimed thaig many took the chance and dust town was emptying fast.

When she lay in the guest quarters of the estate she marveled at the fact that there wasn't any kind of treat to take care off. During the blight it had seemed to her that everyone wanted her to solve their problems first before they would concern themselves with something as inconsequential as a blight and now when the blight was gone it seemed nobody needed any help anymore. It was as if there were no bandits on the road or crazy blood mages in Denerim basements, she had even seen wolves moving away from the road. She grinned to herself and with this her mind fell into a convoluted dream of vague shadows and distant screeches.

The next day they were up before sunrise again and kept following the road. During the chase Anders had stayed in roughly the same direction and while they walked she wondered about his destination directly west of them was only Jader, the closest Orlaisian city and Orzammar. She weighted the options against each other. She knew very little of Jader only that Riordan had been a senior warden there what meant that it had some kind of grey warden outpost, but she couldn't discount Orzammar off hand. It was that she simply hadn't a clue what his plan was.

The next week they tracked the north shore of Lake Calenhad. They had met few travellers and none had seen someone matching Anders description. The third day a merchant claimed that he had seen a figure in robes duck off the road when he saw him, but he hadn't investigated further. The phylactery now directing them North West as they went south following the lake in the direction of the Frostback Mountains. She knew they could leave the road and follow the phylactery through the fields and wilderness but that wouldn't be very practical if Anders really had gone to Jader or somewhere else west of the Frostback Mountains. She decided the road was the best bet for now.

On the fifth day in the afternoon they arrived at the crossroads that led to Orzammar, the region was sparsely populated so she decided to keep them going for a few more hours following the road to Orzammar instead of imposing the company of 5 gloomy wardens on some local farmer. Her companions didn't complain but they looked a little weary at the prospect of starting to clime the pass only Oghren looked happy because they were approaching Orzammar.

By nightfall they made camp near the side of the road in a small hollow. It was nearly summer so most of the snow had melted but the night was still cold and they all huddled near the fire. They hadn't spoken much on the first part of their chase but now Nathaniel felt that it was time to raise the issue of Anders again.

The camp had been relatively peaceful, Sigrun had first watch and sat on a rock so she could see the camp and it surroundings without being blinded by the light from the fire, Velanna was examining a couple of strange plants that she had picked up near the shore of lake Calenhad and Oghren was trying to figure out how much he could drink if he didn't want to be woken by a shower of cold, clean water. However when Nathaniel spoke they all tensed as if they had sensed darkspawn nearby.

'So what will we do with him, Commander?'

She didn't answer at once first she wondered whether Varel had any hand in this and then how long he had been waiting to ask her, but when everyone kept staring at her she was almost forced to say something.

'When someone becomes a grey warden their previous life is over and whatever crimes they may have committed are erased. However that doesn't mean we are above the law once we are grey wardens. There's of course a certain tolerance.' She looked meaningful at Sigrun who had stolen a small fortune the first time they had gone to Amaranthine before Kate had told her that they could buy whatever she wanted. 'But murder doesn't fall in that category. If we find him we will give him the choice to go on his calling and redeem himself. If he refuses or some demon has taken possession of him we will kill him.'

'And what if he's possessed by Justice?' Velanna suddenly asked putting the herbs in her bag.

'If he's possessed by Justice the same applies. I don't think he could have done the experiment without his approval so that makes them both responsible for the death of my men and those Templars.'

'How long had you known that Rolan was a spy?' Sigrun called suddenly from her boulder.

She was a little surprised that the dwarf had been able to guess that she knew, but then again Sigrun won almost always their card games.

'When he came to the Vigil, I asked him why he wanted to join our order and that story of how the darkspawn attacked and burned his Chantry while he protected a group of refuges was so flimsy that I send a letter to Knight Commander Greagoir about his motives. Apparently someone had pulled rank on Greagoir in Val Royaux and decided that the grey wardens needed some supervision after we killed Rylock in Amaranthine. So they sat about to find a candidate who was loyal to them but with a plausible backstory and they arrived at Rolan.'

'So you knew but you still partnered him with Anders?' Nathaniel asked incredulously.

'Why is that so strange? Anders is no blood mage. He only wanted to be free. Anyway by partnering him with Anders he could see firsthand that we weren't up to anything.'

'Still, why didn't you tell us?'

'There was no reason. Rolan had no intentions to harm us and if I told you, what would you have done about it? Once he survived the joining he couldn't go back. I had hoped that he would see that he was wrong about Anders and Me and reported that to his superiors.'

Velanna interjected at this point. 'Someone pulled rank on a knight-commander? Don't they answer only to a grand cleric and the divine?'

'That what I thought too but Greagoir hinted only that some other party in the Chantry had pushed for it. He wrote a few cryptic things so I have done a little research and there are rumors of a group that watches the Templars, but I could find out much about them only that they only answer to the divine, but retain some independence to do what they deem appropriate.'

At this Oghren keeled over. He had apparently decided that he would face the water in the morning. Kate was surprised he had held out for more than a week and smiled in anticipation. Velanna grunted in disgust as he farted and belched in his sleep. 'Nathaniel, please fill a water skin for tomorrow morning before you take second watch.' Kate remarked dryly before she turned around in her bedroll and shut her eyes. She had last watch so she wanted to get as much sleep as possible.

When Velanna woke her it was about 4 in the morning and she wearily got up and placed herself on the same rock Sigrun had sat upon earlier that evening. First she tried to sense nearby darkspawn but she could only sense them running around far below in the deep roads. Next she checked the surroundings, on the far and left side of the hollow was marked by a steep straight cliff and she couldn't imaging enemies dropping down 30 meters and still be able to attack. On the right there were a couple of bushes and in front of her was the road silent and empty. So she sat there beneath the stars checking the dark for movement playing with the two rings she wore on her middle and ring finger. Wondering what she would do when she found Anders. She had made some unpleasant choices before but never about the faith of one of her companions.

When the sun came creeping through the valley the others woke on by one. When they were about to start their breakfast, Kate walked over to Oghren and kicked him when he didn't react she sighed and nodded to Velanna who had won the little dice game they had played to determine who would wake Oghren. Velanna threw the water over his face with a vindictive smile. Oghren shot immediately bolt upright spluttering and started cursing them all. Kate was glad that she had taken the precaution of placing his battle axe out of his reach.

When they were ready to set of Kate checked the phylactery. The drop was pointing more north but more disconcertingly slightly down.

'Maybe it's because we're because in the mountains and he is near the coast.' Sigrun suggested.

'Perhaps'

Kate however pulled a strange device on three adjustable legs that supported an oval glass capsule with a tiny bubble inside. The others watched in curiously as she placed it on a nearby rock and started adjusting the legs until she was satisfied. The bubble was now exactly in the middle of a small circle drawn on the glass. She attached two tiny sticks to the contraption, one went in a fixed position and pointed horizontally. The second however went into a moveable holder and she held the phylactery next to it so she could measure the angle of descent against a perfectly flat line. When she had the angle she took out the map and drew a straight line from West Hill to just north of Jader and then another line from their current position to in the direction the phylactery was pointing.

'We know he was somewhere along this line about a week ago with no visual elevation difference.' She pointed to the first line. They said nothing but stared with interest. 'Now he is however along the second line with a downwards angle of about 2,2 degrees. Now if we take the point where the two lines intersect as the minimum distance between us and Anders.' She made a few calculations 'about 75 km I would say.' She took a scrap of vellum and constructed a triangle. 'That means he's at least 2,8 km lower than our position give or take a few hundred meters and we can't be higher than 500 m yet.'

She saw them first register what she said and then realizing what it meant.

'He's in the deep roads.' She conclued softly.

Note: The instrument she uses in an improvised clinometer. You hold it at spirit level and then you're able to determine the angle to for example the top of a tower.


	5. To The Deep

In accordance this new information they hurried to Orzammar, the closest entrance to the deep roads. While they went on everyone except for Oghren who was mopping wanted to know more about how exactly she had deducted that Anders was down there. They didn't doubt Kate after all they had been though over the years but they were still curious. 'So what was that device for?' Velanna inquired.

'The circle teaches more than magic, they demand you to take at least one non magical subject like herbalism, astronomy, mathematics, … I chose geography so that I could learn something about the outside world. It seemed so far away and alien from inside of the tower and I wanted to learn more about it. I learned about climate, geology, geomorphology and topography. The instrument I used is a clinometer and it allows to measure angles against a straight line. Its original purpose is to measure the angle of slopes so they can be mapped. If the bubble is within the circle then you know the clinometer is on spirit level so you just tinker with the legs until the bubble is right where you want it. As for the calculation it's basic geometry if you know the angle and length of one side of a triangle you can calculate the other angles and sides.'

The others were silent as they continued climbing the path. Kate was considering what Anders was looking for in the deep roads and how and when he entered them. In addition judging from his current direction he was probably in the tunnels somewhere under the waking sea. Could he be trying to cross the sea and get to the free marches? She was born there but she could remember anything about it. Nathaniel had spent some time there maybe she should ask him about it. He rarely spoke of his time as a squire and she had wondered about it but never pressed him for details.

Because of their increased pace they reached Orzammar by late afternoon. The road was busier with traffic now and the Templar patrols that checked all incoming and outgoing traffic. They had to because of a rather interesting move by Bhelen to increase the surface trade. He had declared that within Orzammar there would be no restrictions on lyrium trade since it was the human religion and laws that bound the trade. Kate suspected that his intent was to get rid of the lyrium smugglers in Orzammar by forcing them to change location and in the process increase trade. The chantry had been outraged. They had promptly send representatives to Orzammar who had apparently threatened with an exalted march. Bhelen had however not given in and had somehow managed to make the chantry back down. Kate had often wondered what kind of deal or threat he had used. But in the end the chantry had no choice but to enforce the regulations themselves. The result was that the focus of the lyrium smuggling had shifted from getting it out of Orzammar to getting it past the Templars whom the chantry had send to supervise the trade. It was a rather dubious move but it had some advantages. The criminals in dust town had lost their main source of revenue and were more likely to join the effort to fight the darkspawn or try to join a caste now the restrictions had been loosened. The dwarves could sell to any idiot who though he could make it past the Templars and the confiscated lyrium gave the chantry a source of free lyrium for their Templars.

They were stopped just before they reached the great gates of the city. After they had identified themselves and stated that they were on grey warden business, they were allowed through without the usual checks. Kate led her companions through the great stone gate that led into the hall of paragons which was filled people arriving, departing and paying homage to the paragons. 'Why do they sodding care what we bring into the city?' She heard one disgruntled merchant complain as he was left to repack his cart.

They left the commons behind them and headed for the newly established grey warden compound. It was a spacy building near the entrance to the deep roads. Although it hadn't a permanent grey warden presence they found it fully stocked with everything they would need for a deep road expedition.

After the basics like food, water and potions were divided over everyone's packs Kate decided to give them the evening to relax and make their own special preparations. They would continue when the sun rose above ground. They all spend their evening differently. Oghren went to tapsters so he could spend his monthly stipend. Kate wondered whether the people of her arling appreciated how he decided to spend their tax money. Nathaniel planned to gather some news in the city and check whether anyone might have seen Anders. Sigrun went to the hall of the dead, the new headquarters of the legion granted to them since their recognition of being a caste, in order to gather news about the deep roads. Kate and Velanna went to market to check for some additional supplies but in essence they went shopping. Kate wondered whether she better press on instead of checking the stalls and bartering with local vendors about prices but she decided against it. Her people needed a break from the events from the last few weeks. She was confident that they would be able to overtake Anders in the deep roads. So she felt that a little break would be a welcome change of pace.

After an hour most of the shops were closing or bartering with their last customers. Kate and Velanna decided to head back to the compound. When they arrived Sigrun and Nathaniel were already back, Oghren was unsurprisingly not yet back. They both had learned some new things from their respective sources.

'The legion says that the darkspawn are become more active again. Some of the northern passages might not be safe. They think there is a large group gathered in one of the tunnels possibly led by a disciple or a vanguard. They are preparing to go after the group themselves but not before they have trained their newest recruits. Anyway if Anders went that way he may meet his calling without us doing anything.' Sigrun started.

'The Mines commander implied the same thing. However he also said that no grey wardens have passed through in the last month but that one of the northern patrols found a sizeable group of burned darkspawn about 2 days ago. They investigated and found a trail in the ashes that led north. The patrol followed it until it became too dangerous to continue but they didn't find any clue as to the identity of the attacker or why that person was down there. We can safely assume that it's Anders since fire was his preferred method in dealing with the darkspawn and there isn't that much traffic down there. We can't however be sure where or how he got into the deep roads.' Nathaniel added.

While he spoke he pointed out the location of the burned darkspawn on the map and from there the trail that the patrol had followed. Sigrun pointed to the general place where the large darkspawn horde was likely to be, the trail headed straight for it.

The rest of the evening they discussed the route they would take. They needed to decide between two paths they could take the fastest route and go straight north in that case they could follow one of the main tunnels and probably gain some ground on Anders but if he had taken a more unconventional route they could waste a lot of time to find a passage to the level or thaig he was holed up in. The other choices was the more difficult route to where the dwarven patrol had followed the trail and try to track Anders through the underground maze where the dwarfs had left off. However there was always the possibility that Anders had somehow blocked the road behind him or his tracks would not be clear enough for them to follow. Both routes would take them to the darkspawn horde holed up somewhere in the tunnels and neither guaranteed success. The phylactery still indicated that Anders was to the North-West and down but you had to place it next to Kate's contraption to see that it really pointed down.

They decided to go to the shaperate and consult more maps about the deep roads under the walking sea. Their own maps didn't stretch far enough north and maybe there was some tunnel or passage that could help them in their journey. Although it was rather late by now they were granted immediate access to the shaperate by the night guardian.

The perfectly ordered records were easy to use and they found the maps in an instant. They revealed something very interesting. Through the center of the walking sea stretched a long straight crevasse about forty meters across and it went on for hundreds of miles in east and west under the walking sea. There were about five places across and the only one within a reasonable distance was directly north of them. If Anders knew this and even if he didn't his journey north would have to take him to that bridge unless he choose to go into the caverns dug by the darkspawn in their unending quest for an archdemon. But coming out of those again was so unlikely and there was no certain way to navigate them that Kate decided against that possibility.

When they returned to the base they were surprised to find Oghren in a bed near the wall, a note on the table explained that he had asked the barman of Tapsters to have him carried back to the base when the bar closed. This surprising foresight astonished Kate and she decided to go easy on him in the morning. They all went to bed to get some necessary rest.

The next morning above ground anyway was heralded by the dwarven clock in the corner and it made a shrill whistling noise so loud that even Oghren stirred for a moment. Sigrun quickly closed the steam valve and they all went to breakfast. They ate quickly and then made for the main tunnel entrance. The guards on duty simply saluted and the commander mumbled a greeting. There was no need to ask them why a group of heavily armed grey wardens were going into the deep roads.

The deep roads had changed quite a lot since some of the thaigs near Orzammar were reclaimed. The main road had been repaired, fallen rumble was cleared and the darkspawn tunnels on the sides of the road were sealed off. The magma flow on both sides of the road was restored and it cast an orange light about. They also passed regular patrols and carts with goods. The only thing that hadn't changed was the feeling of darkspawn in the distance. They were still far away but it was a reminder of the danger ahead. This went on for about 4 hours until they reached the furthest outpost of the dwarves. Beyond the light of their torches darkness reigned. They continued along the road. The light now came primarily from a couple of wisps that were summoned by Kate and Velanna's staff. The lighting wasn't optimal but it didn't require much energy and it didn't attract too much attention. In this fashion they continued for the rest of the day with only two breaks until their clock indicated that the day was over and they started looking for a place to sleep. They found a little cavern apparently dug by hopeful but unsuccessful lyrium prospectors and made camp for the night. There weren't any darkspawn close so they looked forward to a quiet night.

They used the thick lichen covered the walls to make a fire in the cave. They used their usual system of one guard at the time but they augmented it by placing several Glyph of Paralysis and repulsion. If any of the Glyphs were triggered the others would fire too. The whole set up could easily stop an entire group of darkspawn for a while. The trick was to place the Glyphs with care so you didn't paralyze yourself or the others. But they had become very good at this during their many trips into the deep roads and Kate closed her eyes knowing that they may not be safe but at least they would be warned of any danger.


	6. In The Deep

At 4'clock topside Nathaniel woke Kate for the last watch of the night and she took her position at the mouth of the cave. She spent the hours staring into the darkness and letting her wisps fly freely. They zigzagged in the air and lit up different parts of the tunnel as they explored. She sensed the darkspawn were still relatively far away and even though it was truth they could sense them too, it was exaggerated. The darkspawn in general couldn't really distinguish them from the others of their kind at any significant distance and at close range they got confused unless they actually saw them. But there were other dangers in the deep roads like wild brontos, giant spiders, deep stalkers and sometimes even demons. There were even rumors of high dragons and undead dwarven spirits roaming the very depths of the earth.

A loud crack brought her back to the present as a piece of celling fell on the ground. Immediately a wisp flew over to investigate. The piece wasn't large but to a wisp nearly everything was an adventure in itself. Kate snapped back to the present and focused her attention on the wisps. She let them fly in both directions of the tunnel but the illuminated darkness revealed no threat. She sat back down and relaxed a little. Two hours later she woke the others and they broke up their camp and continued on their quest.

Time has very little meaning in the deep roads and were it not for their clock they would hardly notice it passage except for their growing fatigue. They were able to keep a good pace and when they ate their lunch, they had left the dwarven outpost well behind them. There was an eerie silence around them only broken by the sound of their footsteps.

The first incident was just after lunch they were just on their way again when one of Kate's wisps suddenly shot forward and illuminated a pale white creature. The wisp could always be relied upon to act as guards as they invariably shot towards anything new. The deep stalker hissed and fled from the light. It was their classic hunting method. If they blindly followed the creature they would end up surrounded passing the creatures that lay in wait in the dark behind rubble and in the empty lava canal. However this was not the first time they encountered deep stalkers. With a nod to Velanna, Kate summoned magic within her and cast a flame blast in the direction of the side of the road. On the other side Velanna did the same and casting fire back to back they formed a kind of fiery V. The others drew their weapons and moved forward down the center and the mages followed them. After a couple of meters white shadows jumped up away from the approaching fire and fled down the tunnel. This went on for about ten meters when the last of the deep stalkers ran off into the tunnel.

'We should have killed them.' Oghren growled 'It no use scaring them off more will simple come.'

Kate and Velanna stopped casting.

'They may return but after this I think they will seek out easier prey.' Nathaniel offered

'They don't think like that, we are just walking pieces of meat walking through their patch of tunnel.' Oghren shot back

'You're just angry because you didn't get the chance to kill anything yet.' Sigrun joked

Oghren didn't reply and the rest of them simply fell into the marching rhythm again with Kate's wisp even more excited than before. Apparently seeing all the creatures and the fire had made very active and the zoomed around the tunnel with even more vigor than before. The deep stalkers seemed to have learned their lesson and didn't show themselves anymore that day.

By the topside nightfall they had progressed well. There were no caves in the vicinity so they made camp on the side of the road. The lack of cover always disturbing but they checked the wall on their side which was declared solid after Oghren gave it a pound with his hammer. The placed the glyphs augmented by several traps from Nathaniel designed to alarm them in case of movement.

When their traps and glyphs were set and Sigrun had cooked their meal. Kate checked the phylactery. It still pointed downward but slight and also to the right. It was good because it meant Anders hadn't reached the bridge yet since the bridge was straight ahead on their level. She wondered how Anders navigated the deep roads. Humans and elves were known to quickly lose their sense of direction in the endless tunnels. He probably used the ancient dwarven road signs carved in the walls of every crossroad but he still need to know somehow which thaig he needed to go to. Maybe he had acquired a map somewhere. In the end it didn't matter much they just needed to catch up with him. The question was into what kind of ancient dwarven hole, he would crawl if he caught wind of them. There were still ancient citadels and fords in the deep roads were one could hold out for quite some time. She let her thought trail freely like this until Sigrun sat down next to her.

'We will get him, you know.' Sigrun said softly.

'Will we? Even with the phylactery we could easily lose him down here. We might know in what direction he is but getting there through this unending maze might be challenge to say the least.' Kate replied

'Is that what you really think or something you tell yourself because you don't want to find him?' Sigrun observed

Kate sighted, 'I don't know. The last time I hunted down a comrade she stepped into a magical mirror warning me for troubled times ahead.'

Sigrun looked confused. 'Morrigan?'

Kate hadn't told her companions of those events. Of course everybody knew that a witch named Morrigan had helped her stop the blight but only Alistair and Wynne knew why she had originally decided to join the company. She was just about to change the subject when Sigrun spoke again.

'She is the only one you haven't gotten a letter from since you became warden commander.' Sigrun went on.

'Have you been going through my mail?' Kate asked indigently because she really didn't want to talk about the letter from Leliana. That had contained some rather obvious references to a certain night.

'Well' Sigrun hesitated, but found her resolve again 'When I was looking for more books I broke into your office and I found the letters.'

While Kate wasn't really angry, she still felt rather annoyed at the violation of her privacy but Vigils Keep was a tight community and secrets didn't stay secrets for long. The letters didn't even contain great secrets but mostly references to the past or some ongoing discussion. Alistair didn't write unless it was official because they saw each other regularly when he came to make a royal appearance in Amaranthine. She and Wynne wrote each other constantly on topics of magic, the standing of mages in Thedas and her travels with Shale. Wynne and Shale were looking for a way to return Shale back her original form so they had sailed form Amaranthine to Cumberland looking for an answer. In her last letter Wynne had said they planned to go to Minrathous since the Tevinters still had one of the greatest libraries of magical knowledge stretching all the way to the beginning of their empire. She hadn't heard anything since. Every now and again Leliana send a new song or story from Orlais but refused to elaborate on what she was doing there. It was apparently too sensitive to put in writing. Zevran didn't really send letters but now and again a wanted poster for him with a large bounty arrived at the keep which she took to mean that everything was fine with him. There was even an official letter on behave of the Qunari people thanking her for ending the blight and an invitation to Par Vollen to learn the ways of the Qun signed by the commander of the defense of Kont-aar which she took to mean that Sten had moved up in the Qun.

'It's a long story.' Kate said wearily 'Maybe one day I'll tell you.' She smiled a little when she saw Sigrun's disappointment.

Sigrun scowled, she hated secrets and had hoped by putting her cards on the table Kate would tell her what Kate had done when she had suddenly put Nathaniel in charge and left the keep for 2 whole months without an explanation. Kate's remark about hunting for a companion had sparked a suspicion in her. When Kate had come back, she had been rather disappointed and wasn't willing to say what she had done. Curiously Sigrun had conducted a quiet investigation while Kate left for Soldiers Peak a little later. Sigrun had gone to the market in Amaranthine and had spoken merchants and travellers for her whereabouts. The hero of Ferelden didn't travel unnoticed but she had obviously intended to. Kate had been spotted passing through Lothering travelling along the imperial highway. A couple of days later she had killed a group of bandits together with an elf on a road at the eastern side of lake Calenhad. Later she passed through Lothering with an elf and a mage on route to the Brecillian forest. During their evening in Orzammar Sigrun had also learned she had been in the deep roads with her companions for nearly two weeks and had left them as suddenly as she had come. Leaving for only she knew where until she had suddenly arrived in Amaranthine on a cart coming from the dragon bone wastes. Sigrun had yet to track down the driver and didn't know where he had picked her up. She also wondered about the mage and the elf who had apparently gone their own ways after their final destination. But it seemed that tonight she wouldn't get anything more so she went to bed pondering Kate's travels once again. If only she could figure out what could unite a grey warden, elf and mage on a quest to all these different places.

'Maybe when all of this is over, she will prove more open.' She though as she closed her eyes.

Kate had the first watch which was rather lucky because that meant she could sleep the rest of the night uninterrupted. So she said to work on cleaning her armor while she listened intently for any sound. A couple of hours later she woke Oghren with some effort and rolled into her bedroll.

She woke however much earlier to a loud explosion of noise and light. Her ears were still ringing while she felt a wave of air move passed her and then she saw a wave of blue light move over the ground. She scrambled to her feet sword in hand and sought for a treat. She immediately saw a bunch of frozen deep stalkers engulfed in light. They had triggered the glyphs whilst sneaking up on their camp and would be trapped for at least a minute or two. Her wisps were zooming around them curiously. Closer by was the corpse of a deep stalker blown away by one of Nathaniel's traps. She took all of this in a second and then she saw three deep stalkers running toward her, when they were two meters from her, they jumped with their claws out stretched. She gripped her sword tighter and slashed in a wide arc in front of her. The Scales of the beasts were no match for her magic blade and they fell back with a deep cut in their upper torso. The creatures didn't get up again. All around her companions were defending themselves against their own attackers. Velanna stood in the center of a glyph of repulsion and was shooting arcane bolts while dodging the acid the deep stalkers were spitting at her. Oghren was surrounded by at least six deep stalkers and swung his battle axe in great arcs around him so when two of the creatures jumped they were thrown against the wall of the cave and didn't get up. Nathaniel and Sigrun had both got out their daggers and were moving between the paralyzed deep stalkers efficiently cutting off their necks before they could move again. On the other side of the tunnel there was a similar group of creatures caught in their trap so Kate summoned forth her power and cast a fireball at them. It hit just when the creatures started to move again. The explosions left their blacked bodies scattered in a wide circle. After cutting the head of a deep stalker that had been trying to sneak up behind her she moved over to Oghren. She cut off the legs of two of them and Oghren used this chance to jump forward and sweep away the last two of his attackers. Kate looked around again but the others had already dealt with the remaining deep stalkers.

None of them had sustained any injuries so they moved their camp a little further into the tunnel and set up the glyphs and traps again. Kate rolled back in to her bedroll and slept until the topside morning.


End file.
